Over 500 families fear eviction in Hoima
Written by admin on January 11, 2023
More than 500 families in Kiryateete part of Kapaapi 1 Village in Kapaapi Sub-county, Hoima District are living in fear of being evicted by a strange man claiming to have acquired a land title.
Mr Emmanuel Okumu, the Village Chairman, told Kazi-njema News that the residents came to know about the three-year-eviction risk on December 14, 2022, when they asked their political representatives about strange men who were inspecting that land.
“We were informed that the land title in Kiryateete village covers 501 acres of the land occupied by people for more than 50 years. We discovered that the land title is registered in the name of Robert Masereka,” he says.
Mr Okumu adds that Mr Masereka claims to have legally acquired that land in 2019 but the process had started earlier before Kapaapi sub-county was carved out of Kigorobya sub-county.
He says that none of the residents had knowledge about the land title processing.
Mr Christopher Bahemurwaki, the district councillor for Kapaapi sub-county, acknowledges the threat against his electorates saying the dispute is part of the increasing ones in the sub-county and the district at large.
“The district is aware of that dispute but we cannot just conclude whether Mr Masereka is plotting a land grab or he lawfully acquired the land. He is among the land title holders summoned by the District Production and Natural Resources Committee in a bid to investigate the legitimacy of disputed land titles all over the district,” he said.
The politician adds that the committee assigned by the district council in August last year has already visited a couple of land dispute-riddled areas and gathered a lot of important information.
“The disputed land title holders, residents and their leaders will attend the meeting scheduled for Wednesday next week at Hoima district headquarters. We need the details of all disputed land titles and residents before we submit a comprehensive report to the council for informed recommendations,” says Mr Bahemurwaki who is also the Head of the Production and Natural Resources Committee.
Areas visited by the committee include Buraru land in Buhanika sub-county and Kijongo disputed land.
Efforts to get a direct comment from Mr Masereka cited in Kaapi 1 land conflict were futile.
